It was Monday morning and Ariella had just arrived at the casino for her first day working with Lucian. She had spent all of the past two days thinking about him and what he had said, and she was still mind-blown about the possibilities. Not to mention that she couldn’t get a certain pair of light blue eyes out of her head. Light blue didn’t seem to do them any justice, maybe more like the color of ice would describe those beauties better.

She took the elevator to the top floor and made her way to Lucian’s assistant.

“Hello, my name is Jenny. How may I help you this morning?” The middle aged woman asked.

“Good morning. I have an appointment,” she told the woman.

The woman smiled as she picked up the phone. “May I ask your name?”

“Ariella Fontago.”

“Just one second, Miss. Fontago.” Jenny hit a button and announced her arrival to Lucian. “You are welcome to go on in. He’s been waiting for you,” she said as she hung up the phone.

Ariella walked over to the double doors and pulled one open and entered. The space was over-sized, but still seemed to feel comfortable. There was a couch down one wall, and a huge desk that took up most of the other half of the space. Lucian was staring at his computer screen, but looked up when she walked in.

“Good morning, Miss. Fontago,” he said as he got up from behind the desk.

“Please, call me Ariella. Miss. Fontago is too formal for coworkers.”

“Ariella it is then. Please feel free to call me Lucian as well.” He made a gesture for the seat in front of his desk and she moved to sit down there. He took his seat again behind his desk. “I’m so glad you decided to come this morning, I was a little worried that I might have scared you away last time we talked.”

“I won’t lie, the idea crossed my mind a few million times,” she laughed, “but I am in your debt and a debt must be paid. I’m actually excited to see what you have in store with this project.”

“Well that’s good to hear. I guess now is as good a time as any to get started.” He opened a desk drawer and got out a thick three ring binder. “I am currently looking at getting into overseas trading operations. Specifically dealing with certain historical artifacts. The company I have been talking to sent this offer and although everything looks to be legit, it doesn’t feel like it. I need you to go through this binder, from top to bottom. Look over everything at least twice, and see if you can find any issues. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.”

He slid the binder across the desk to her. “I think I can handle that. Is there anything specific to this project that I need to know before I get started?” Ariella asked.

“Yes, the artifacts are of a supernatural origin. They cannot be shipped like normal. The security and safety of the artifacts are top priority.”

There was that reminder or the unknown. Ariella was lost in thought for a moment before Lucian spoke again.

“Is that a problem, Ariella?” He asked as if he sensed her thoughts.

“What… no. No, that isn’t a problem,” she answered. “I just lost my train of thought there for a second. Nothing to worry about.” She gave him a small smile.

If she only knew how much those lips begged to him, she might rethink that smile. Reeling in his thoughts, he got back to the topic at hand. “There is a conference room at the end of the hall that you are welcome to work in. No one will be using it so feel free to spread out if you need to.”

“Thanks. I think I will take this,” she said as she grabbed the binder, “and make my way there.”

Lucian stood up as she rose. “Like I said, let me know if you need anything.” He couldn’t help himself as his eyes found her ass as she walked away. He could almost feel it in his hands.

Ariella sat the binder down on the conference room table and let out a long sigh. How was she supposed to work with such a beautiful man? She didn’t know what was her favorite thing, his strong cheek bones, or his jet black locks that seemed to always be styled to perfection. Hair like his made her want to run her fingers through it and thoroughly mess it up.

The rest of his body wasn’t bad either. Long lean muscles filled out his frame and not an ounce of fat to be found. In the short time she had been around him, she noticed that he didn’t smile often. So when he did, it was like receiving this beautiful gift that was so rare.

Ariella let out another sigh and decided to set all thoughts of her sexy boss aside and get to work. She opened up the binder and got to it. It wasn’t long before the table was half full of paper stacks and notes. Ariella was so caught up in her work that she almost didn’t hear the knock at the door.

“Knock knock,” Lucian said as he stood in the doorway. “I would ask you how it’s going but you seem to have everything under control.”

“Sorry, I tend to get a little intense when I’m concentrating on a project.”

“That’s nothing to be sorry for,” Lucian said. “It’s a little after five and I was heading out for the day. I just wanted to stop by and check on you.”

“Oh gosh, is it that late already? I completely lost track of time,” she laughed.

“Happens to me all the time. Ah, listen, do you have any plans for dinner? I was thinking we might take a moment to get to know one another a little better.” Lucian hoped that by masking it as a business dinner that she would be more likely to go. For some reason he couldn’t bring himself to leave her just yet.

“No I don’t have any plans, and yes I could do dinner. I’m starving actually.”

“Ok then. I will just wait for you downstairs in the lobby. Say ten minutes?” He said.

“I can do that,” she answered. Lucian nodded and left her to make his way to the elevator.

Could she really do dinner with this man? Knowing her she would get something stuck in her teeth or spill her wine. It was then that she had a sudden thought, vampires weren’t supposed to eat food! How was this going to work? Would she be eating alone while he just sat there with a glass of wine? That was if he could even drink wine. God, what was she getting herself into?

Feeling nervous for a whole new set of reasons, Ariella gathered her purse and went to find Lucian. She found him sitting in the lobby, looking at his phone. He hadn’t noticed her yet and she took the opportunity to observe him. His hair was still immaculate, his face was somewhat tense as he looked at the screen, he had one foot balanced on his knee, and his overall presence just seemed to overwhelm her. He looked normal to her and she made a mental note to ask him more logistics about being a vamp.

As if he had sensed her appraisal, he looked up and smiled at her. He stood up and walked over to her.

“All set?” He asked.

“Yep,” she smiled back at him.

He turned and they walked out the doors to a car that was waiting for them. It was a sleek black sedan with tinted windows and a beefy looking man for a driver. The driver opened the door and Lucian held his hand out to help Ariella in. Once they were seated, Lucian leaned up and spoke something quietly into the driver's ear. The car began to move and Lucian leaned back into his seat.

“Do you like Italian?” He asked.

“Of course. I don’t think I’ve met a pasta that I haven’t liked yet,” she joked.

“Well that is a good thing then. This restaurant is a longtime favorite of mine, and I thought you would enjoy it as well.”

“With a recommendation like that, how could I say no?” Ariella turned her head to look at him more fully and found him staring at her. When he didn’t say anything, she finally spoke up. “What?” She asked quietly.

“Nothing. It’s just that you look lovely,” he admitted.

Ariella blushed and was sure her cheeks and ears were turning red. “Thank you. You don’t look half bad yourself.” She smiled on that last part and Lucian was again captured by those lips.

She turned her head away and looked out the window. She needed some time to cool down her face and to regroup her thoughts. The rest of the ride was silent, but a comfortable one. When they arrived at the restaurant, Lucian helped her out of the car and his hand never left her lower back until they were seated in a huge semi-circle booth.

She slid into the middle and Lucian followed suit, sitting so close that she could feel the heat from his body. Which was another cause for question, because weren’t vamps supposed to be cold to the touch? She added the question to her growing list.

The waiter handed them menus, but Lucian didn’t bother opening his. Ariella was scanning her own menu when she looked up and noticed that he wasn’t. She had a slight internal freak out that she would indeed be eating alone.

The waiter returned and Lucian ordered a bottle of red wine. The waiter looked to her to take her order. Ariella told the waiter her order and then handed him the menu. She looked to Lucian and she froze. He was telling the waiter his own order! Ariella sat dumbfounded while the waiter collected Lucian’s menu and returned with the wine. He was pouring a glass for her when Lucian spoke up.

“I hope red is okay?” He asked.

Reeling her thoughts back in, she gave him a small smile. “Red is fine,” she answered as she took a sip of the delicious blend.

Lucian was eyeing her warily. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes. No. God, I’m not really sure. I’m so confused right now.”

Lucian laughed at her panic. “Okay… what is there to be confused about?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Everything about you is a contradiction and I don’t know what to do with it.”

Lucian smirked. “Well I can see how that might be an issue. What exactly is contradicting?”

“You’re supposed to be cold, yet I can feel the heat from you right now. You’re not supposed to eat food, yet you order a meal. And let’s not forget that you are out in daylight hours, which is supposed to be a big no-no for your kind.” She exhaled the breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding.

Lucian was quiet as he processed all that she had said. “Let me tell you a story,” he finally said after many minutes.